AI investment is coming. How can the AEC industry take advantage? Emily Scoones, head of digital innovation (buildings) at Ramboll, takes a look
Within the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry, AI has great potential at all stages of design. It is already being used to predict and improve decision-making around maintenance, from monitoring equipment in buildings to assessing the condition of harder-to-access assets such as tunnels and offshore wind farms. This helps to extend the life of assets and makes maintenance safer.
That makes the government’s investment in AI, announced in the Spring Budget, particularly exciting as it comes at a time when the technology is accelerating, and the public consciousness is ready and appreciative of its value.
It is likely that this in-use analysis will become the norm going forward, be that in collecting more information about how buildings and assets are functioning or people’s usage and behaviour. But to really understand these complex patterns and the impact design has on people, AI will need to be used to develop learnings and insight. It is here where we can really leverage technology in the design process to develop creative designs that meet multiple (and often contradicting) criteria.
We are only beginning to understand how AI can aid the AEC industry
With increased pressure on sustainability targets, decarbonisation and the reuse of existing assets and materials, AI has a key role to play in helping us to assess, understand, map and reuse existing infrastructure. There is real potential for it to be used to create analysis or current condition models from point clouds, images or archived plans of the older existing building stock. Although in the short term, it may be more of an augmentation or support tool, the technology is advancing quickly, and this may change in the near future.
The industry should also be looking to use AI to analyse data from multiple sources on a national level to help us use energy, materials and resources more efficiently and strategically to help meet climate targets. Productivity is another area where AI can help the AEC industry. Language AIs are aiding with writing tasks already, as seen by the uptake of ChatGPT and other equivalent services.
On construction sites and in design, AI can be used to optimise construction programmes and material delivery in addition to identifying risk scenarios. It will no doubt become more prevalent as part of the design process to help increase efficiency.
Barriers to adoption
The main obstacles to the wider use of AI in the industry are arguably people and the rules of business. The lack of experience in applying this technology is a hurdle which will hopefully be overcome by the recent steps forward in adoption. Significantly, there has already been an increase in people and companies identifying how it can be used and exploring its implementation either through partnering or developing skillsets.
Another key barrier is the commercial risks that AI can create, especially around intellectual property ownership, so it will be particularly interesting to see how the government’s work with the Intellectual Property Office pans out in the future. The other area where the government can support AI uptake is in governance and codes of practice around this technology.
AI provides exciting opportunities for the industry, but there are also potential pitfalls. All the same, the AEC industry should welcome and harness the technology, not just at the company level but also as a wider collective, because to really leverage AI effectively and make an impact, we need to share our data and knowledge. If we do, AI can be used to help us improve productivity and safety, as well as unlock a more sustainable and people-centric approach to design.
Emily Scoones
Head of digital innovation (buildings)
Ramboll
Tel: +44 20 7631 5291
